Test results got worse after a year

[raverg]

Hi everyone,

I'm a bit surprised and slightly shocked I think this morning after my doctor called me back with my latest test results.

For context, I'm 36 and last year we did an IVF cycle on the NHS and my counts were AMH 14.4 , FSH 4.9 in the follicular phase and I generally had about 11 follicles at every scan. This resulted in only 7 follicles on collection day after 225 of Menopur, with only 4 mature and 2 x day 5 blastocysts. One resulted in a chemical, one didn't work.

Now as we're embarking on a private IVF treatment, we repeated the tests and my AMH came back at 8.5 (this dropped quite a bit in only 9 months! almost halved) and slightly increased FSH at 10.5 (the doctor said they would like to see it at 10 max), and yesterday they could only see 7 follicles on the scan, which is consistent with the latest AMH reading as the doctor said. This is somewhat concerning to me as I can imagine that it will lead to even fewer embryos if the treatment performs the same.

So at the end of the call, the doctor encouraged us to not delay this any longer and get on with the treatment as my results are deteriorating fast. And they recommended we try a higher dose this time round of Menopur + Gonal F.

Does anyone have any similar experiences to share? I'm still trying to work out what to think about all this. Obviously we'll get on with it and we can still work with these results, but the worry is that things are deteriorating fast and it adds another element of pressure and stress onto things yikes

Thank you!

[Here4ivfinfo]

Bless you. I'm glad I have read this as I am now more confident about my very recent decision to go private. I have high AMH but I encountered an 11point drop in an 18 month period and was also a little bit surprised by this (even though I know it's still high for my age-37). I googled at the time and it was dropping faster than average (I can't remember what the average was but I did check at the time and the % decline was more than expected). It definitely makes you want to be more proactive. I do think that with a different protocol you might still get an improvement on last time, it's definitely happened before for people and it's good that you and your team are proactive, you're doing all you can. I am also wondering whether our AMH level suddenly drops and then stays the same for a bit but I really don't know how it works xxxxx

[raverg in reply to Here4ivfinfo]

Yeah, you're right, I'm pleased that they're re-doing all tests and looking into everything before going into another cycle. They're the same clinic still, but I think we were all a bit baffled as to why there were so few eggs and why the transfers didn't work, as everything looked great on paper. But now they have more data on me, the test results look a bit different 9 months on and we have a better idea for where to go next. Hopefully this is the right approach. Thanks for taking the time to reply

[Behind_Hazel_Eyes]

Hi! I am the opposite to you, but hopefully you find it helpful! I am also 36. My current AMH is 14 and FSH is 4.9. But last August my AMH was at 8 and my FSH was at 5.7. My understanding is that these results can fluctuate but they can be improved. I went through a drastic overhaul of my diet. Low carb, high protein, lots of veggies. I have endo so also went gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, caffeine free and alcohol free and also started regualr accupunture to try to reduce the inflamation. I also lost over 5 stone between August and February (when I was retested). Additionally, I am on a host of different supplements such as proxeed, ubiquinol, NAC, DHA and wellwoman. I honestly think all of this helped to improve my results. I hope this shows that these results can improve. Please don't worry.

[raverg in reply to Behind_Hazel_Eyes]

Thank you, it's always reassuring to hear about the AMH going the other way too. I was vaguely aware that it can fluctuate, but I was a bit surprised of the drop I experienced in only 9 months. And thanks for sharing your diet and tips, I'll look into it

[Here4ivfinfo in reply to Behind_Hazel_Eyes]

I had no idea that AMH could go up. That’s so interesting!

[Xmishell37]

My AMH dropped by 1/3 in the space of a year which was frightening and I was also surprised (I was 36 when first tested then 37 and am turning 38 this week so dreading seeing the number now!) But trying to improve my diet, not sure that will help at all but doing it more for egg quality xx

[raverg in reply to Xmishell37]

Sorry to hear that! It’s one thing to know in theory that your chances are reducing as your age increases, and another to see it on paper happening to you. Hope that you diet will help, best of luck

[EjHack]

Hi, I feel your pain. My AMH dropped significantly when I had to lose weight for NHS treatment… 15points in a year! My AMH when started was 5.1. 7 follicles, 7 eggs, 6 fertilised, one 2BB at Day 5. It stuck! It’s a luck game more than anything! May the odds forever be in your favour!! I know it’s really hard but try not to grab on to the numbers. They don’t always mean that you won’t end up with a bundle! Xxx

[raverg in reply to EjHack]

Thank you for taking the time to write this, it was a very encouraging response. I do tend to think as well that it’s all a bit random so I will trust my doctor for now and hope for the best. Thanks!

[Chowlady14]

I’m in a similar situation. My AMH was 22 at 34 and we got 13 eggs, 12 fertilised, 6 embryos and 4 PGTA tested (with 1 morula in the 4) and 0 births. We changed clinics and had my AMH done in January at 36 years old it had dropped to 8!! With follicle count of 10! I was absolutely devastated. We got 9 eggs, 6 mature, 3 fertilised (with an extra late fertilised one) and have been told yesterday 3 embryos so we have decided to freeze all and do another round next month with a hope we can get similar numbers at least and freeze all. I feel like it’s a sensitive age late 30’s and for me I think time is running out so decided to bank rather than take our chances. Good luck and remember like you said you can definitely work with your numbers and it’s quality not quantity xxxx

[Chowlady14 in reply to Chowlady14]

Sorry should have said we are freezing with the intention of PGTA testing as I don’t want to waste time transferring embryos that have less a chance of sticking xxx

[raverg in reply to Chowlady14]

Thanks for sharing your story. Quite scary how the parameters can drop so abruptly after a certain age. And very smart to bank embryos. Best of luck and thank you for taking the time to write this xx